Doug Van Pelt

The Great Exodus.28

It's 8:16. Do you know where your magazine editor is?

"What are you doing?"
That's the question twitter is asking. Twitter is quick & concise mobile (mostly) social network that's taking off. While I was in Africa, that's all a group of the bloggers were talking about (that and being blown away by what we were seeing each day). At SXSW it was a given that you were twittering away at the conference. If you missed a certain seminar speaker or event, you likely had a friend on the inside telling you about it in small 140-character messages. It's a social network that simply asks you to update the people you follow and who follow you "What are you doing?" You'll see lots of updated messages, like:

"I'm standing in line for Prince Caspian. There's a guy here dressed in character. Weird."

or

"Left on Roswell. Red light. Dang."

I finally bit the bullet and signed up. I haven't got my mobile device (a Sprint phone) to properly work with it, but hopefully I will and hopefully it won't be annoying. Imagine a thread of 7 text messages coming over at once.

My twitter for now would be:

"Cafe Verona blend Starbucks. Freshly ground. Insane amounts of vanilla creamer added. Mmm-mmm."

Chapter 29 of Exodus discusses the "Priestly Garments." It's interesting how, in verse 2, God tells Moses: "Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron, to give him dignity and honor." I guess dignity and honor from men to men is important to God -- at least it was in the case of his priests.

Note to self: Remember to show respect to pastors, priests and other spiritual leaders. God kind of makes a point of this in more than one place in Scripture.

There are 12 fine jewels / stones woven into the breastpiece that the priest wears: ruby; topaz; beryl; turquoise; sapphire; emerald; jacinth; agate; amethyst; chrysolite; onyx; and jasper. Each one is to have the name of one of the 12 tribes (or sons) of Israel engraved on it, like a seal. It's interesting that God didn't assign one stone for each specific tribe. He apparently let that decision be made by the craftsman ("skilled men to whom I have given wisdom in such matters") themselves. It's fascinating to me that God gave such an important decision (or at least one that would have long-term, if not eternal) ramifications, as that tribe would bear that color as their symbol from here on out. I like that God would do that. He gives us real responsibilities. We're not just "imaginary interns" that only run errands, make coffee and shuffle papers, accomplishing the "busy work" that doesn't take much decision-making. He is good.

Aaron's rob had pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem, with gold bells between them. These bells were heard when he entered the Holy Place before the Lord and when he comes out, "so that he will not die." According to some scholars, tradition says that one end of a length of rope was tied to the high priest's ankle and the other end remained outside the tabernacle. If the bells on his robe stopped making noise while in the Holy Place, he was assumed dead and could be pulled out via the rope.

Aaron wore a turban on his head, which had a gold plate on it that said, "Holy to the Lord." It served as a symbol of sorts to signify that "he bore the guilt involved in the sacred gifts the Israelites consecrate, whatever their gifts may be." By him wearing that turban on his head, it made the gifts acceptable to the Lord. It's cool how the priest was like an advocate to God for the people. It's also wonderful (again) how God did not designate exactly what gifts to consecrate before Him. He allowed the people to bring their own gifts.

This was all to be a lasting "ordinance" for Aaron and his descendants. God was making he and his family for generations to come a family of priests. That's quite a cool honor. It's also interesting that God told Moses to "anoint, ordain and consecrate" Aaron and his sons. This is like another priestly duty that God gives a fellow man to do for his own. I think I can interpret that to give me lots of freedom and responsibility to be an advocate, ambassador and agent of God for my fellow man. If I take on the attitude and role of a humble priest, I will serve my fellow man, extending forgiveness and blessing as not only a cool way to give, but as a noble and serious responsibility.

Perhaps when I say "God bless you" and believe in my heart that He will, then He does...?

PS Now's the time on Sprockets we dance. And now's the time at deadline we start laying stuff out. This is one of the funnest parts.

The Great Exodus.27

This chapter has more instructions about the careful building of the tabernacle. It's interesting how specific the designs were. I'm reminded again how the Bible has more credibility than I originally thought -- every time I read details like this that seem superficial and, dare I say it, unnecessary (at least in terms of having a Scripture to guide our lives by). One example is the name of some guy's street (Strait) in the book of Acts. Sometimes an overall/big picture perspective gives us training in spiritual matters and better understanding (i.e. the message). For example, the fact that Moses was to have his people follow these instructions (and those from "the mountain") so carefully underlines the point that God is serious about worship and has an order to things.

I chuckle sometimes when I think about someone extracting information in a sincere but possibly misguided* effort to get spiritual teaching. For example, if we look at the measurements of the courtyard, it was to be a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide. That's 150 square cubits. How many dimes are in a one-year subscription to HM Magazine? 150. How do dimes enter into the equation? Well, what percentage is the tithe? 10 percent! That's the value of a dime! This passage is obviously telling us that our true spiritual worship involves subscribing to HM Magazine. If I were serious about such an interpretation, I would be filled with sorrow. Sorrow leading to repentance, for to misguide* someone using "spiritual manipulation" is an offensive and terrible thing to do. Never mind that the math is wrong.

* The word "misguide" is a good one. I think of the person that is misguided. He or she is attempting to go a certain direction. The fact that they go is a good sign, showing a measure of an ethic/thought-pattern/attitude that wants to accomplish something. They're moving, in a sense. The quantifying prefix shows that the person is given wrong information and/or pointed in the wrong direction. They will likely miss their target. They're close. They've got a good motive, perhaps, but their information getting them there was off. It's interesting that a biblical definition of sin is "missing the mark." The action might start out with good intentions sometimes, but being deceived or misguided along the way keeps the action from hitting its mark.

Now, hopefully my little departure and discussion about the term misguided is a little more accurate (or maybe a lot more reliable) than the silly thing about the measurements of the courtyard. I get tickled (and roll my eyes) when I hear someone get into numbers and interpreting things out of details. I'm wary of such things. It's fun to solve a mystery, but assuming that everything God wants to teach us is a great mystery that needs to be unraveled is probably a bit off the mark. There's some very upfront and simple things that He's told us in His Word. If the Gospel isn't simple enough for an uneducated person to understand it, it's not fair.

Hillary Clinton, Hayley Williams, and Tony Dungy

If I were Hillary Clinton's speech writer, I'd be preparing the "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" punchline. I think they're going to be on the same ticket come November, don't you? It'll give some paranoid conservatives something to worry about if they get in the White House. Obama might pick someone else as a running mate, but it's hard to imagine that after this tightly contested battle, isn't it?

Listening to Paramore's Riot album on the way to work. Both my kids like the band, and I think I just passed the 100th play milestone. It feels like it. They say "familiarity breeds contempt," but I think that was primarily aimed at and composed by college roommates, and not necessarily about getting sick of an album you play all the time.

Our resident donkey, Douglass, was courting (and constantly stalking) the Shetland pony here on the ranch, but now that the big Alpha Male tan horse has returned, the Shetland is always close by this horse and the poor donkey is off to himself in a far away field. I wonder if he's composing any blues songs about rejection while he chews on the grass out there. Perhaps I should collaborate with him. I might be the first human to co-write with a donkey. I think the whole Shrek movie was all animated and thus fictitious. I'm talking alt-country reality, here.

I'm reading Tony Dungy's book, Quiet Strength. It's great reading a football book in the off season. I should do this every off season. Come to think of it, I probably do that already.

I signed up for a twitter account over the weekend. Once again, I'm behind the curve, but the tech geeks are once again far in the lead. I haven't figured out how to get it on my cell phone text messaging thing. We'll figure it out after deadline. I watched Jumper over the weekend. Interesting flick. I also saw several Criss Angel Mind Freak episodes. I wish I knew his secrets. I finished transcribing the War of Ages cover story. Now I have to wait for the new photo shoot to happen later this week, so I can lay out the cover and cover story. This issue is another double-flip cover, so the Kutless cover is designed. The story's finished, but I haven't laid it out yet. I have to put together a story on The Famine and This Fires Embrace before I start the fun layout process. I have a few albums and DVDs to review, too. It's looking like a busy week. If you walk past my cubicle this week, I'll be like that guy in the Fed Ex Ground commercial, shouting, "Busy bee!"

And, in one last thankful comment: I don't really work in a cubicle.
:?)

My own private HIM CD/DVD Review (don't read this if you're not me)

HIM
Digital Versatile Doom CD/DVD
This Finnish gothic doom melodic metal (whatever you wanna call it) band has taken away the mystique. Each of their previous studio albums are recorded with equal parts rock attitude and studio sheen. The album covers have all utilized dark color themes – like black or midnight blue or the occasional stark red and pink (like the classic Razorblade Romance, which remains their best introduction-to-the-band purchase). While staying consistent with the gothic vibe in its packaging (a “digipack” with black background and gold framing and a beautiful illustration of a raven perched atop a microphone and stand), once you pop the CD or (especially) the DVD in, the mystique is shattered. It is then that you realize that this is a band of five humans. Not vampires clad in black capes and guitars stuck on like a Velcro or feltboard character from Vacation Bible School, but a group of five non-descript (save for the iconic, pale frontman) musicians doing their job. The chugging bass lines and all-over guitars meld in loud and boisterously with the keyboards. This was filmed and recorded in a Los Angeles theatre called The Orpheum, which may or may not have provided its own unique audio challenges. The drummer is actually perched behind one of those plexi-glass walls, like you see rock worship bands use on sanctuary stages all the time. This is a quick way to isolate the low-end sounds that a powerful drummer -- like this guy, Gas Lipstick – emits from his pounding. The guitarist, Linde Lindstrom, actually makes all his skillful playing look difficult, with a concentrated face and often grimacing during tight notes played in quick succession. Watching him made me appreciate anew the talent and skill that it takes to hold down such an important, foundational and sometimes isolated role as guitarist (especially when there's only one in the band). The singer makes it seem like a routine he’s been through before, but he’s having fun with it – almost like he doesn’t take it seriously. Again, another crack in the mystique. He could’ve sported a scowl the entire time and furthered his “dark” image, but instead he sports a grin and is often making playful faces to his bandmates and others off camera. Yes, this band is putting out. They’re sweating. Even though it is a nice and current fashion statement, it’s almost impressive that bassist (Mige, aka Mikko Heinrik Julius Paananen) keeps his stocking cap on during the entire show. And while we’re documenting trivial matters, the drummer was able to toss some of his sticks all the way up into the balcony, which looks impressive from the stage camera. And most observers will notice that vocalist Ville Valo keeps a cigarette lit in his hands for most of the show’s duration. They play material from their vast catalog, including several numbers from their heaviest and most recent, Venus Doom. It's cool to see them tap into the cascading riffs of its title track as their finale moment, putting a heavy accent on the evening.

The first time I saw HIM, a friend had seen them play on the second or third leg of the Dark Light tour and soured my expectations by telling me that Valo had smoked during the entire show in Atlanta and that his voice sounded the worse for it. I saw them at an outdoor venue in San Antonio and, even though they sounded breathtaking during the piano-driven ballad “Join Me In Death,” most of their show was one big muddy mix of hellish frequencies and faint similarities to so many songs that I love. Whenever they played one of their quieter, more dynamic and piano/keyboard driven ballads, like “Killing Lonelness,” for example, they sounded great. During any of the rockers (90% of the show), they sounded almost awful. I was reminded of the drug-touring years of Aerosmith in the late Seventies. Although I never have seen that band live, all the reports I’ve heard and television appearances, videos and even live albums (remember Live Bootleg anyone?) made their classic studio albums seem like unobtainable heights to these sluggish and drug-induced musicians from Boston. While I was able to hear many songs I liked from HIM that night, I still came away disappointed. Besides shattering the shadowy mystique of being Finland’s most gothic melodic metal import with this visual document, HIM also successfully proves that they really don’t suck in the live performance department. My friend and I must’ve seen them on bad nights, because the mix and the performance are both hot on this DVD. Thank goodness. I was fearing the worst when I unwrapped this one. Speaking of, this was an unexpected freebie from a publicist that I opened in yesterday’s mail. Maybe now I’ll be able to interview Valo (finally).

One slight distraction or blemish on this double disc release is the “Parental Advisory” emblem on the front. Because this was a fine digipack, it gets kind of ruined by this black & white announcement. Why they couldn’t have stickered the shrinkwrap instead of printing the thing on the cover, I don’t know. And why it has this warning is beyond me. As far as I can tell after one listen all the way through, there is no between-song banter laced with profanity. Perhaps it’s because of lyrics like: “My hearts a graveyard, baby / and to evil we make love.” Or, more likely, it’s the slight profanity in the interview with Valo in the bonus material, or perhaps his philosophical tidbits about love: “…it should be total submission to your passion, to your senses and to your heart…” I dunno. There’s also some video entries that “HIM’s biggest fans” submitted into a contest the band held. While not as amazing as Muse’s recent live CD/DVD package, Haarp, this is quite a wonderful audio/video treat. [Sire] Doug Van Pelt

Texas is Under Attack

I was talking to a friend this morning. I won't name any names, but I will say that "Jose Puente es muy caliente" does rhyme rather well. Anyway, this friend said something that really stood out that I liked. He made reference to being willing to sit down and listen to someone. "I don't care if you're atheist, or gay, or whatever. I will sit down with you and listen. I am willing to hear your perspective. I want to know where you're coming from." I'm using quote marks, but these are memories of a conversation a few hours ago now, so they're not as eloquent as my friend first quoted. He said, "I wasn't willing to do that 10, 20 years ago, but I am now." That really says a lot. So many people want to demonize others and put them in a box and not really listen to them.

Or, another mistake made often is: Christians feel like this is someone's last chance and they've got to cram all the answers down this person's throat. They have this messiah complex of sorts and/or they've been trained to believe that each personal encounter is a chance to harvest a soul and so they won't ever just listen, period. If they do listen at all (and any amount of listening is good), they make sure to answer the specific deception or false idea with an argumentative and (sometimes) pat answer. This turns off the listener.

The Christian thinks that listening and hearing someone out is tantamount to accepting their lifestyle or philosophy. That's ridiculous. We needn't be worried about the "scandal" of associating with someone that doesn't quite have their worldview orbiting around Jesus the Christ. Being someone that shows love, acceptance and forgiveness does not have to be equated with endorsing the lifestyle of those he or she accepts. Does it?

I think us evangelical Christians were duped into believing this giant perspective that we are living in the End Times and the Rapture is just around the corner and everything is urgent. Now, I don't want to be the guy caught saying, "Lord, Lord..." or "Where is His return?" But I have been around long enough to get a perspective that allows me to appreciate the long-term. Some people come to God when they hit rock bottom. Those are dramatic and most often wonderful stories. Some people warm up to the idea and take awhile to turn to the Lord. Some people do have an "appointment with destiny" and accept Christ after being evangelized by someone and then they later die that night in a car accident with a truck. But why are those the only stories we seem to remember? Someone drilled into our heads that everyone we see that is "obviously lost" needs to come to Jesus now or else they might begin their eternal damnation in a moment. Because I've had that drilled into me, I can still appreciate the need to be urgent. I pray that I stay sensitive to the Spirit of God and know and obey when I'm in a situation where God is leading me that way. I also have seen the late 70s come and go and -- even though there was many a crisis in the Middle East -- the expected rapture and Second Coming did not take place. I'm glad I didn't sell my car and house and move out to the country to wait. I'd be rained on, cold, and starved by now. I like the idea that there is a purpose for our being here.

If God is true and if He is amazingly good and willing to offer an abundance of fulfilling life, then it must be true that we can be agents of that kind of goodness if we just try. Maybe it all boils down to knowing God, hanging out with Him (praying) and just doing what He says to do. That's what Jesus said He was doing and that's kind of what He instructed His followers to do. So, maybe if we talk to God and trust that He'll "talk" to us by guiding our thoughts, then maybe we'll be inspired to love others and think of others as more important than ourselves ... and in time make this a better place -- simply because we (and in us, Him) are here.

I was talking to another friend later today. I won't name any names, but he was once basically accosted by Larry Norman, who asked him, "Why do you call yourself 'The Doctor' if you're not a real doctor?" Anyway, I told my friend about how the office was shaking and vibrating with a tremendous sound. Kind of like the sound of many horses rushing to battle. When I opened the front door I saw what looked like giant locusts in the sky, with what looked like tails of scorpions and long, long hair. These helicopters were very close to the ground. There were ten of them in formation flying South. I had no shirt on at the time (because I spilled some coffee on my white "SCENESTER" shirt and didn't want it to stain, so I cleaned it with water and had it drying outside on the porch. The pilots and passengers in the helicopter must've looked at me with disgust. I bet they were tempted to shoot me. My friend said, "Texas is under attack."

Look Who's On Tour

ANEMIC
myspace.com/anemic
riyl: the used, city sleeps, the beatles


WILLIAM STENNER
williamstenner.com
riyl: rock, underground recordings, raw material


NEGINOT
neginotmetal.com
riyl: sinai beach, killswitch engage, bleeding through


HEROES WILL BE HEROES
myspace.com/hwbhrock
riyl: august burns red, as i lay dying, war of ages

Speaking Regrets & a Russian Messiah

I just got back from speaking at my daughter's school. They had all the fourth and fifth graders in the cafeteria for "Parents' Involvement Day." While I was tempted to act out in Ricky Bobby's dad's character from Talladega Nights, I played it straight and told the kids about publishing a magazine. I showed them some posters and shared about how rewarding it was to see your hard work in your hands afterwards. I talked about how I enjoyed interviewing artists. I told them about journalists asking "open ended" questions to get people to talk. I showed them a 4/4 16-page form/signature, to give them some visuals and nuts & bolts printing exposure. I asked for a show of hands on numerous occasions, one of which was to identify which ones knew about the software program called PhotoShop. Several raised their hands. I was impressed. I spent at least half the time answering questions, which I always enjoy. One boy asked me, "What's your favorite thing to do?" I told him that was a great question and "difficult to answer." I thought to myself, 'Where do I begin?' I wanted to mention playing with or hugging my children, but thought I needed a better way to bring that up to not embarrass my daughter, why shyly introduced me at the beginning of my talk. I reiterated what I had shared earlier, that I enjoyed seeing something I worked on, I enjoyed interviewing people, and I enjoyed the relationships and friendships I've formed in doing that. I wasn't sure if I should answer with the most fulfilling things in my life or specifically about my job. I stuck with the job angle. When driving home, I felt pangs of regret when I thought about how I could have affirmed my daughter by saying something like, "Hanging out with my family," which would have also affirmed something in the hearts of all the kids there -- that family is important and that their fathers love them. Dang it! I coulda ... shoulda ... woulda! I think there's almost always a "Speaker's Regret," where you look back at what you said or didn't say and think of things you could have done that were better. Oh well, I think it was fairly fun and educational for them all. My daughter rushed up to me to give me back some stickers that she had or that were passed out or something. The big smile on her face was a transformation from the earlier vibe of "I don't know you / don't embarrass me" look on her face as she walked past when they filed in and I reached out for a "high five" and she kinda shrugged her shoulders up tight as she walked past as if ignoring me. It's nice to see that appreciation grow after the talk was done. Hopefully she'll be encouraged by affirming comments from her peers. My ego appreciates it, of course, but for a small person, sometimes being able to appreciate your parents from the admiration/perspective of your friends goes a long way to making you more grateful.

If I ever grow my hair and beard back and return to Russia, people might follow me around and worship me like a celebrity. Several years ago I modeled as Jesus and drawings of such are printed in a recent issue of the Russian version of Esquire Magazine. It's amazing to see this magazine (subscriptions are only $289, only about a hundred bucks more than a year's worth of Billboard), which portrays the lifestyles of the rich and self-important. I thought that the economy over there was horrible, but I guess there is an upper-class that's trying to and/or living the high life. Just like a fancy New York style magazine, there's all kinds of ads for the best watches, shoes, liquor, etc. Fascinating. If I did go, my message would be simple: "Borg leibet tiber," which (although I probably butchered the spelling) translates roughly into "God likes you." I think that message implies something that'll be swallowed and accepted by more people than "Jesus loves you," because people's minds are kind of tweaked when they hear the word "love" nowadays. Having someone tell you that "God likes you" is a little bit off-beat, a little unexpected, and thus not so much the cliche that "Jesus loves you" is to some ears. Anyway, a little goes a long way and I'm a strong believer in measuring success in tiny increments. Instead of counting numbers at a huge altar call (which, some will tell you, is full of skewed information and shallow commitments), someone moving ever so slightly closer to a relationship with God is a good thing. I'm all for the big "closing the deal, let's pray to ask Jesus into your heart" kinda thing, and am open to that if and when the opportunities come, but the tactful, sincere, and rich communication that might only get people to think is serving the same purpose, too. Some labor long-term and some specialize in short-term work. I think it's all potentially good and pleasing to the Father.